


Injuries and Ice Cream

by iwritewhenimhappy



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Broken Bones, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 00:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18981682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritewhenimhappy/pseuds/iwritewhenimhappy
Summary: “We need to get her to the hospital.” Max says quickly looking from Dustin, to Mike, then to Steve who stares at the whole mess with his mouth wide open. “Hey!” Max snaps her fingers in front of Steve’s face. “You’re the only one that can drive. Unless you want me to drive your car again.”“Oh, hell no.” Steve says quickly, Max’s words finally getting to him.“Hurts.” Jane whimpers weakly, making Max’s attention focus back on her again.“I know.” Max says with an attempt at a comforting smile. “We’re going to get you to the hospital and they’re going to fix you up good as new.”





	Injuries and Ice Cream

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is PG, but does have some swearing in it, which is why it's Teens and Up.  
> Hope you enjoy. :)

_“Papa?” Jane asks quietly, softly as her papa comes closer to her with the scary metal instrument that hurts her head. She just got out of the dark place and she wasn’t sure what was going on. It’s hard to get back to this world after being in the other one. It takes a while to realize where she is again. During that time of confusion her papa’s friends must have taken her to the cold room with the chair and the medicine. They have special equipment they use to find out answers. Papa says it won’t hurt but it does._

_“Shh, Eleven, it will be quick. After you can go back to the bed and rest.” Papa tells her with a smile that breaks his skin._

_“Papa?” Jane’s words quiver in panic and fear. She doesn’t want to be here, she doesn’t want to go through this again, but she has to. She doesn’t fight as they strap the leather down across her arms and legs. She knows not to fight._

_Papa smiles at her and nods to someone behind the chair she sits on._

_“Papa…” Jane tries again, but before she can say more the pain begins. She clenches her teeth and only lets out a whimper. She knows not to scream. She was conditioned not to._

_Papa…_

~<>~

“Jane you better get up. You’re friends are here and I’ve got to get to the station.” Hopper says, raising his voice just enough for her to be able to hear him from the kitchen.

“Papa!” Jane yells back and Hopper stills. It takes only half a minute for him to leave the kitchen and make his way to her room. The kids wait outside for their friend but they don’t come in, too wrapped up in an argument about D&D. Hopper is grateful, Jane wouldn’t want them to see this, at least not all of them at once.

“Jane, hey, kiddo. You’re okay.” Hopper says soothingly as he sits on the edge of her bed. His hand comes up to her shoulder and he gently squeezes it, trying to wake her as safely as possible.

 Jane starts and sits up, one of her books goes flying across the room and hitting her nightstand. Hopper hears it behind him but doesn’t flinch nor take notice as Jane is still trembling from her nightmare. With his hand still on her shoulder he says, “You’re not there anymore, kiddo, it’s me, Jim.”

 Jane’s frantic eyes find her adoptive father’s and she smiles slightly before leaning in and burrowing her face into his chest. Hopper is quick to reciprocate the hug and to tell her that she’s safe. That he won’t let anything happen to her anymore.

“If you’re not up for it today I can tell your friends that you’re not feeling well.” Hopper offers kindly as she pulls away.

 Jane shakes her head and says, “I want to go.”

“Okay. You better get dressed than. I made breakfast, it’s on the table, but I have to get going. You going to be okay, kid?”

 Jane nods her head and then, almost like the nightmare never even happened, smiles and asks, “EGGO’s?”

~<>~

“So do you guys want to play a game of Frisbee?” Maxine asks with a curious tilt of her head, her eyes looking from each of the boys then to Jane, lingering for a second longer.

“Hell yeah!” Dustin says in excitement.

“As long as Dustin doesn’t push me again.” Lucas says with a slightly bitter tone. Dustin gives him a disgruntled look as Will and Mike chuckle.

“Really dude? That was one time, and it was an accident!” Dustin tells him for the third time this week. He hasn’t heard the end of it since the last time they were here at the park playing a game.

“Hey shitheads!” Steve yells from his spot under a tree a few feet away. “Either throw the Frisbee or I’m driving your asses’ home.”

“Excuse me, but who exactly invited you?” Max says with a raise of her eyebrows in her usual fiery tone.

 Steve is about to bite back when Dustin cuts in. “I did and he’s our friend. Remember when he took one for the team and let your brother beat him up?”

“Hey! I did not let him beat me up!” Steve says loudly, gripping the novel he brought along. He would be playing Frisbee if it wasn’t for those stupid reading lists the college he got into sent out.

“Alright! Alright!” Lucas says with his hands in the air. “Did we come to play Frisbee or argue?”

“I’m with Lucas on this one. Mom wants me home early.” Will tells them.

 They each look at each other, some nodding and others simply shrugging as they back away to get some space between them to start playing. Mike takes the Frisbee from Will and yells to the others, “I’ll serve!”

~<>~

“I’m open!” Jane says almost an hour later. She backs away with her hands in the air as Dustin throws his arm back to pass it to her. They took a break five minutes ago and now they’re back at it again. Jane didn’t get much passes but after Max threaten the boys they agreed to stop letting their anger about the last D&D game to get in the way of this game. Only passing to the other guys in hopes of showing them up. It was getting ridiculous and frankly Max was starting to get especially angry at the frown Jane had every time the Frisbee flew by her. She once confided in Max, not too long ago about how she never got to play games like this before, how it was a lot of fun, and how she wished she could do it more. Max really wants her to be able to play Frisbee for the rest of her life as long as it makes her happy. Since then she’s devising ways for them all to play Frisbee more, or capture the flag. Another of Jane’s favourites.

“I’m open!” Jane yells again as Dustin throws it with the worst accuracy in the group, Jane knows this, (well everyone does) and accommodates by turning a sharp left so she’s able to catch it in time, but the Frisbee never lands in her hands. Instead it flies by her and lands on the grass a feet away from Jane’s crumpled form.

“Ah!” Jane can’t help but scream out as her ankle twists painfully in the hidden gopher hole she didn’t even know was there. She can’t help but to whimper, to make a sound of pain because this is unlike any pain she’s ever felt before. Ever since she was young she’s known better than to make a sound when it hurts but now it hurts more than ever. It burns and throbs with the force of a hundred rhinos. “Ahhh!”

“El! El!” Mike yells as he runs to her, the others including Steve right behind him. Max, having ran track and field for the past couple of year’s runs ahead. Her stomach swarms with panic as her heart beats almost out of her chest. No. No. No. Not Jane. Not Jane. Anybody but Jane. No, no, please, no.

“Jane?” Maxine asks in panic as she crouches down beside her friend. Her hand finds its way on Jane’s shoulder as Jane turns her body as best as it can toward the other girl. Her face is able to align with Max’s as her eyes find hers. There’s pain and tears that haven’t fallen in her eyes and Max’s heart squeezes in hurt for her friend. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Oh, shit.” Dustin says loudly as he looks down at the hole Jane’s foot is in. Max follows Dustin’s line of sight as the others do as well and finds the limb twisted painfully. It’s not in an unnatural position which gives Max some sort of relief, but it’s red and angry. It’s already swelling to double its size. Max has seen a lot of injuries as someone who skates a lot, especially back when she lived in California. Her and some others from her school used to skate at this local park and there was always at least one injury a day, a more serious one at least once a month. This right here is one of the more serious ones. Defiantly not a sprain.

“We need to get her to the hospital.” Max says quickly looking from Dustin, to Mike, then to Steve who stares at the whole mess with his mouth wide open. “Hey!” Max snaps her fingers in front of Steve’s face. “You’re the only one that can drive. Unless you want me to drive your car again.”

“Oh, hell no.” Steve says quickly, Max’s words finally getting to him.

“Hurts.” Jane whimpers weakly, making Max’s attention focus back on her again.

“I know.” Max says with an attempt at a comforting smile. “We’re going to get you to the hospital and they’re going to fix you up good as new.”

 Jane sniffles, her eyes trusting and in pain as she looks into Max’s determined ones. “Okay.” She whispers. Max nods her head and reaches around Jane’s back. Mike is on her other side in an instant to help but its Max who takes most of Jane’s weight onto herself. Jane leans against her more heavily, her hand gripping Max’s arm in pain as they get her out of the hole and onto solid ground. She doesn’t let her foot on the ground as best as she can but does not whimper as they walk towards Steve’s car. Every step is painful but Jane makes no more sounds, nor do any tears fall. She knows she’s not supposed to cry.

“We’re almost there.” Max encourages as she feels Jane slow slightly. “Come on, a few more steps and then you’ll be in the car.”

 Steve holds the door open as Max and Mike very carefully place her into the backseat. Max is quick to get in the other side and make sure she’s right beside her friend. Steve gets in and Mike makes his way into the passenger door. He rolls down the window and says to the others, “Meet us at the hospital. Oh, and don’t forget our bikes!”

“Woah wait Mike, that’s like three bikes.” Dustin tries to say but Steve’s already backed out of the parking lot and has them on the way to the hospital.

“We’ll be there before you know it.” Max tells Jane as Jane clenches her teeth. Her hands are balled into fists as she tries desperately not to move her foot even an inch. Max sees this and she immediately wants to take the pain away or to try and make it better. “Why don’t you hold my hand? You can squeeze as tight as you want and then maybe it won’t hurt so badly? Maybe it will help?”

 It sounds silly once she says it out loud but Jane is quick to take the offer, hoping that something, anything will work. Her hand finds Max’s quickly and she clutches onto it like her life depends on it. Max smiles softly at the contact and wraps her hand back around Jane’s. She has a tight grip but Max doesn’t mind as the butterflies in her stomach erupt and the squeezing at her heart for the pain Jane is in stops momentarily. She looks to Jane to see if she feels it too, or feels somewhat the same but Jane is focused on the pain that’s getting worse. Max immediately loses her smile as the butterflies leave and the situation comes back full force. Her heart once again feeling like a hand is squeezing it painfully.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

~<>~

“Come on, a few more steps.” Max encourages as Jane’s head rests against her shoulder. Mike is on her other side and Steve is walking ahead to get a nurse with frantic steps.

“Yeah, you’ve got this El.” Mike says with a little more enthusiasm.

“We’ll be right with you, sir.” The nurse says to Steve as the other three walk up.

“No, now. She- her ankle’s all messed up. We need to see the Doc now! Come on.” Steve tells her anxiously.

“I understand, but he’s with another patient and we need her information. So please take a seat.”

 Max and Mike are already guiding Jane towards the uncomfortable brown waiting chairs. They set her down gently, one on either side of her as Steve paces back and forth, muttering how Hopper is going to kill him. Jane doesn’t pay attention him or the others, her head is instead bowed as her breathing becomes erratic. The white walls and big metal doors are an echo of something else, of another time for her. A time where pain was the norm and noises weren’t permitted. A time when papa was the only one she could count on, and the only one who loved her.

“I’m fine.” Jane says as her head snaps up, her eyes finding Mike’s, then Max’s. “I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Jane-” Max tries to say but before she can continue Jane is standing up. Her good foot first and then her injured one. She almost collapses at the first amounts of pressure that cause the fractured bone to painfully move, but she doesn’t. She knows pain and she knows how to handle it, and she’s fine. She doesn’t need to be here. They don’t need to do tests with pain in her head. She’s fine.

“I’m fine.” Jane grits her teeth as she says it and takes another step. “Ah!” She can’t help but yell in pain as she collapses, the pain becoming too much for her to handle. Max and Mike are up and there in an instant at her side. They manage to catch her before she can completely crumple to the ground but it’s not fast enough as the smell of bleach and disinfects invades her senses. They must have just cleaned the floor, but all Jane can see is the hospital, that _place_. That nightmare.

_“Papa?” Jane asks in confusion as he comes closer with the other men behind him. They finished the test and now she is supposed to be unstrapped and taken back to her room, but this doesn’t happen. Papa is there and others. They aren’t unstrapping her. Why aren’t they unstrapping her?_

_“Eleven, we need to do one more test.” Papa says with a smile that stretches skin, his dull eyes shining. “This might even be the last one. It could be.”_

_He’s never said that before. He always says there will be more tests._

_“Okay?” He asks and Jane finds herself nodding. Papa then looks to the others and nods his head. Suddenly she’s moving. She’s still strapped in but they’ve got her moving in the hospital bed, out the big metal doors and into another room._

_“Now, Eleven, this will hurt, but it’s going to help.”_

“No- NO! I don’t want to be here, papa. I don’t want to be here.” Jane whispers over and over as a different presence comes into her senses. She recognizes the smell of smoke and trees but her mind is still at that place, back at the hospital.

“It’s okay, Jane, it’s me. It’s Jim.” He says and Jane finally, finally manages to open her eyes and see that it is Jim. It’s not papa. She looks from his face to the left where Mike looks on with worry, then to the right where Max is still holding her hand. Jane realizes that she’s squeezing it tightly and is quick to loosen the grip, but she doesn’t let go. Max gives her a small smile and Jim looks from one to the other curiously.

“I don’t want to be here.” Jane says again as her eyes turn sad, but the panic has subsided slightly.

“I no, but from the looks of it you hurt your ankle pretty badly.” Hopper says looking down at the red and throbbing limb. “The doc needs to take a look. I’ll make sure he’s quick, okay? I’ll go and have a word.”

 He looks to her friends and they nod in understanding. They’ll be here keeping her company and keeping her calm. They’ll make sure that she’s okay.

“It’s okay, Jane, you’re here with us.” Max says with a kind smile as her hand squeezes Jane’s.

“OH THANK GOD!” Dustin yells in his usual over-dramatic tone as he, Lucas, and Will run into the hospital. They run right up to the three and Steve who has finally stopped pacing and sat down beside Max. “We had to call Erica to give us a lift and she was not going for it. Thankfully Lucas has some dirt on her so it worked out.”

 Jane can’t help but smile as Max snickers, and Mike only looks amused. Lucas on the other hand is rolling his eyes and Will is looking from one to the other as if to say, ‘these are my friends, huh?’ His focus then turns onto Jane and he asks a little timidly, “Are you okay?”

 Before she can answer Hopper is back and saying, “The Doc is ready to see you. Come on, I’ll carry you.”

“It is a hospital. You think they would have at least one spare wheelchair.” Steve mutters slightly to himself, everyone else thinking the exact same thing.

“Oh, and kids, stay put. The Doc doesn’t need you crowding.”

 Immediately everyone starts talking at once about how unfair it is and that Jane shouldn’t be alone. Hopper give them all a stare and they surprisingly are quiet. His eyes then turn to Jane and he asks, “Do you want one of your friends to come in?”

 Jane looks from her adoptive father to her friends, her eyes finding Max’s. “Max.”

 Hopper nods in agreement, then turns to Max, “As long as you let the Doc do his thing without interrupting.”

 Maxine puts her hands in the air. “Hey, I’m not the one who scared the nurse off last time.”

“Hey!” Dustin says in annoyance. “It was an honest mistake! I thought she was hurting Steve!”

“She was cleaning the cut, d-” Lucas starts to say, but before he can Steve steps up.

“Boys.” Steve says with an annoyed look. “Not in the hospital.”

“Sorry Steve.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

 Max rolls her eyes at these kids she calls friends, but then she sees Jane smiling at the exchange, momentarily forgetting her pain, and maybe they’re not so bad after all.

~<>~

“Hello Jane, I’m Dr. Evans.” The Doctor says kindly. He’s a nearing his fifties with dark brown hair and light eyes. There are wrinkles under his eyes but otherwise he seems quite young, and genuinely kind and understanding. Jane feels herself relax when he walks in, but it’s only slightly. There were a lot of doctors at the hospital she lived in her whole life. A lot. They’d come in and ask her questions, do tests, and study every move she made.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Max whispers to Jane as her hand squeezes hers.

“I’m going to take a look at your ankle, alright?” The Doctor says with smile. He waits for Jane to nod her head before he kneels down and very gently takes her foot in his hands. It still hurts far more than she would like but he tries to be gentle as he examines the swelled limb. He moves it slightly causing Jane to bite down on her lip but then he puts it back down. “It’s defiantly not a sprain. We’ll need to do some X-rays to see exactly what’s going on, but luckily there’s an opening. If you’re ready I’ll get a nurse, Jackie to come in and wheel you down.”

 He doesn’t wait for a response, instead grasping Jane’s chart, and clicking his pen. He scribbles something on it quick and makes his way out of the examination room.

“I don’t want to go.” Jane says immediately, her eyes on Hopper.

“I know, but he needs to take these pictures so they can figure out what’s wrong and fix it.” Hopper tells her gently.

“Hey.” Max says, gaining Jane’s attention. “It’s not that bad. I broke my wrist a few summers ago and had to get an X-ray. It’s actually pretty cool it’s this big machine and it doesn’t even hurt.”

 Jane wants to not believe her with her past experiences but she trusts Max. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, and afterward we can talk Hopper into buying us ice cream. Broken bones and injuries always guarantee ice cream.”

 Jane smiles and laughs slightly. “Will you come with me?”

“I’m not sure if they’ll let her.” Hopper cuts in, and Jane turns to him with the saddest eyes. He sighs and mumbles something about ‘damn kids,’ before nodding and telling her, “I’ll ask.”

 He leaves the room and Jane looks to Max. “I hate hospitals.”

“Me too. They’re kind of freaky, but I know what you’re saying. You used to live in one, right?”

“It- It was a lab but papa always called it a hospital. He said I was special.”

“You are special.” Max agrees. “But you shouldn’t have been there. I’m glad you’re not anymore. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” Jane agrees easily. “I never thought I’d have friends. Like Mike, the others, and you.”

 Something about the way Jane says, ‘and you’ makes Max’s cheeks heat up slightly and a swarm of butterflies engulf her stomach. She’s always known that she’s different than the other girls at school and back in California. All they wanted to do was talk about boys and worry about makeup. They liked clothes and going to get their hair done with their moms at the mall. Max never wanted those things. She could care less about boys, other than being friends with them which is more often than not what would happen. She never really had any friends that understand her the way Jane does. She’s different like her. She gets it and she likes Max for who she is. She even wanted Max to teach her how to skate once, although that didn’t end well, no broken bones but a nasty scrape to the knee. Max’s never met anyone like Jane, but she supposes no one has met anyone like Jane before either.

“Alright, sweetie, are you ready?” The nurse asks as she walks in pushing a wheelchair, Hopper not too far behind her. Jane is about to nod her head no and back away as far as possible, too scared to go into the hospital alone when the nurse adds, “Your friend can come with us.”

 Maybe it won’t be so bad.

~<>~

“I don’t like this.” Jane leans over and whispers to Max who pats her arm in response, her hand finding Jane’s once again.

“I know.” Max whispers back as the X-ray technician sets everything up. “It looks scary but it’s not that bad.”

“It won’t hurt?”

“No, it won’t. I promise.”

“Alright, honey, we’re ready for you.” Nurse Jackie says with a kind smile as she walks over and grabs the wheel chair handles. She starts pushing Jane toward the table when the fear for Jane really sets in. Her hand squeezes Max’s and Max squeezes back as she walks beside her. They make it to the table and the nurse wraps her arm around Jane’s waist. Max comes onto her other side and helps as they get Jane up, out of the chair, and then sitting on the X-ray table. “I need you to lay down for me.”

 Jane’s eyes, filled with fear look to Max who gives her a reassuring smile, her hand slipping back into Jane’s. Jane holds on tight as she is guided into laying down. The technician comes over and with help from the nurse positions Jane’s foot. Stabs of pain radiant from her hurt ankle, making Jane grit her teeth once again in pain. She doesn’t let any noise of pain escape out of the conditioning she was taught and instead lets her hand grip Max’s harder.

“It’s okay.” Max says quietly, trying to calm down her friend. “We’re just in the hospital. They’re going to take some pictures and then we’ll go get ice cream. I really want rocky road. What about you?”

“Stra- Strawberry.” Jane says through the pain.

 Max smiles. “You’re favourite.”

 Jane nods and the nurse comes over with a large heavy like blanket that looks like an oversized bib. She wraps it over Jane’s chest then looks to Max. “Okay, everything’s set. I’m going to have to ask you to leave while we take the pictures.”

 Jane looks to Max panicked and in turn Max feels her heart squeeze. “Can’t I stay? I’ll wear one of those bib things.”

 The nurse sighs but then looks to Jane’s frightened features and relents. “Fine, but no moving. Either of you.”

 They both nod, and the nurse and technician leave to the other room to take the x-rays.

“Well they didn’t say we couldn’t talk.” Max tells Jane who smiles. “After ice cream we could watch a movie. What do you want to watch?”

“Alice in Wonderland.” Is Jane’s quick reply. She loves that movie more than anything. Max won’t say anything but she’s sure it has something to do with a girl getting lost just like Jane did.

“Sounds rad.” Max says with a grin. “Popcorn too?”

“Defiantly.”

“Okay, you two, we’re finished.”

~<>~

 It takes longer than Jane or anyone else would have liked, but finally the X-rays come in. While they were waiting the other kids came in and they all played a game of guess the goose. A game Will and Mike invented a few summers back and it took up most of the few hours they had to wait for. It certainty kept Jane from thinking about her predicament, where she is, and the pain that her ankle is radiating. The nurse did give her some over the counter pain medication but it only took the edge off slightly. It was hardly anything if Jane is being honest, but she didn’t comment on it or say anything about it. She knows better than to make a noise.

“Good news.” Dr. Evans says with a smile as he walks up to a framed white board and places the X-rays on it. The others look toward the picture of Jane’s ankle in fascination and curiosity. “You won’t need surgery, but there is a hairline fracture so we’re going to have to put a cast on.”

 Jane looks to the Doctor in confusion. “Cast?”

“It’s like a permanent bandage.” Max explains. “But it’s not forever.”

“No, about six to eight weeks is how long we will keep it on.” The Doctor supplies. “If you’re ready now I can take you down to get it on and then you can get out of here. I’m sure you’ve spent longer than you would have liked here.”

 Jane nods enthusiastically.

“Ah, Jim? You can come with. As for the rest of you, I’d appreciate it if you stayed here. The casting room isn’t that big.” Dr. Evans says with a smile.

 Jane looks to Max with pleading eyes and Max smiles, bumping her should slightly in understanding before asking, “Can I come too? Please?”

“That’s not fair!” Dustin says with a certain level of animosity, but Lucas is quick to jab his elbow in Dustin’s side to get him to shut up. “Ow. Fine, jeez, you didn’t have to hit me.”

“I guess one more would be alright. The nurse will be in soon.”

~<>~

“Thank you.” Jane says with a smile as Max hands her a strawberry cone.

“No problem.” Max replies as she takes a large bite of her own rocky road one. They’re in the chief’s cruiser making their way back to Jane and Hopper’s home but Max insisted on making this stop first. The others rode with Steve, and Erica and her boyfriend who got talked into it by Lucas, well talked into is putting it lightly. He still has that dirt on her.

“All set?” Hopper asks turning around as Max shuts the side door. They sit eating their ice cream happily, Jane’s casted foot resting lightly on the floor. Her crutches next to them both, set in the middle rattle slightly as Jane hits her elbow on them trying to eat her ice cream.

“Yeah.” Max answers for her and Jane. Hopper smiles and starts back up the engine. The sky has already changed from an orangery blue to a dark navy as the stars start to shine. Being at the hospital took a lot longer than anyone realizes, mostly due to the fact that there were no windows and Dustin talked enough to fill a week’s worth of time.

“We’re here.” Hopper says a few minutes later. Max has just started eating the cone as Jane takes her last bite. She didn’t realize how hungry she was nor how good ice cream can be on a long summer’s day. “Do you need help getting in?”

“No. I’m going to use the crutches.” Jane says a little nervously as she grabs said crutches and opens the cruisers door. Max is quick to get out, dropping the cone in some nearby trees, and making her way to Jane.

“You got this.” Max tells her as Jane gets the crutches under her arms and tries to take a step forward. She practiced this at the hospital but it wasn’t for long as she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

 Jane clenches her teeth as she takes a successful step forward. She looks up with a huge smile on her face at the accomplishment and Max can’t help but match her enthusiasm. Hopper watches them with a smile of his own.

“Told you, you could do it.”

~<>~

“Why can’t we watch Ghostbusters again?” Dustin asks with his hands in the air.

“Because, Dustin, El is injured. She gets to pick.” Lucas explains with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, besides we watched it last week, remember?” Mike pitches in as he puts the Alice VHS into the player.

“Still.” Dustin says with a shrug as he sits down next to Will whose drawing a small picture of a robot on Jane’s cast. The others have all already written something down and now it’s his turn.

“Hey, kids.” Hopper says sternly as he turns the corner. “Did none of you call your parents?”

“Shit.” Dustin mutters.

“I knew we forgot something.” Lucas admits sheepishly.

 Hopper rolls his eyes.

~<>~

“Please?” Jane asks, her eyes big and wide an hour later when everyone else save for Max has left. It pulls the heartstrings in Hopper and makes him huff in resignation.

“Alright, Max can stay. Do you want to call your parents or should I?” Hopper asks Max.

“You? Please.” Max says partly in triumph and partly in fear. If she called her mom and Neil they would make her come home right now and she would be grounded no matter what she said to them. If Hopper calls though, well, it’s another story.

“Should we watch the movie, finally?” Max says turning to Jane beside her on the couch. Jane smiles and nods. Max gets up and presses play on the VCR, Jane and Hopper’s remote having gotten lost last week when Will accidentally threw it across the room where he may or may not have been aiming for Mike.

“Does it still hurt?” Max asks with concern as she sits back down and Jane flinches slightly.

“A little.” Jane admits.

“Maybe I should hold your hand again?”

 Jane smiles and nods. Max matches her smile and scoots over so that they’re side by side. She reaches out and interlocks their fingers. Jane’s head lays on Max’s shoulder and it’s nice. It’s warm and comforting, and Max can feel those butterflies in her stomach all over again. She doesn’t know it right then but Jane starts to feel the same.

“It still hurts.” Jane says, her head still on Max’s shoulder.

“Oh, well… Uh…” Max says suddenly nervous as Jane takes her head off of Max’s shoulder. She doesn’t move away though, instead she stays there, inches from Max.

“Maybe…” Jane leans in and Max meets her half way. Their lips meet in a chaste kiss and when they pull away both of them are blushing crimson.

“Hey, they said it’s okay if you stay over.” Hopper says suddenly, making them both jump.

“Okay!” Max yells back.

“I’m heading to bed! Don’t stay up too late.”

 Max and Jane listen as he climbs upstairs and to his room. They wait for the door to shut before they both simultaneously let out a breath of air. Max looks to Jane and Jane smiles. Max can’t help but smile too and before they know it they’re laughing. It last only a few seconds but when it’s over neither of them are really nervous anymore. Jane lays her head back on Max’s shoulder and Max squeezes her hand that’s interlocked with hers. Their eyes turn to the movie and watch as Alice falls down into the rabbit’s hole into Wonderland.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was commissioned for @wombatking over on Tumblr. If anyone else is interested in commissioning me, all information can be found here - https://ll-22-63.tumblr.com/post/184908350585/writing-commissions


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